The Curse

6/25/2025

“Fatine” (Ibtissam Zabara) has walked some distance from her village to rendezvous with her boyfriend only to be spotted by a young boy. The couple part ways - perfectly respectfully, but the young lad sees an opportunity to make some foul accusations about her and to share those with his friend, then even with two of her own friends. Perhaps she can raise 50 Dirhams to bribe them to shut up with some sweets? Why should she? She has done nothing wrong? Then again, what damage to her reputation and to her love if these obnoxious brats were to ever be believed? This is quite a potent short feature, simply photographed, that clearly illustrates the vulnerability of this woman not just to the kids, but to opportunistic men, too. Damned if you do, or damned if you don’t.